Can former rivals Clinton and Obama work together?

Many people might have found it hard to believe that President-elect Barack Obama selected to nominate Hillary Clinton as secretary of state, especially considering their rivalry during the primary election this year.

The former first lady and two-term senator’s power to influence has some people speculating whether Obama made the best choice. Will this cause a complicated relationship between Clinton and Obama or can the two work together and bring this nation back to its prospering days?

Although some Americans believe that Obama made the right choice with Clinton, others think that the problems they shared in the past will resurface in the future.

“I do not think that this will be good for America because they will disagree a lot, telling from what I saw during the primaries,” Marist College Democrat Patrick Negri said. “It’s good to see that Hillary was able to become a part of Obama’s cabinet, but I’m not sure that they will get along well together.”

The very long and harsh primary season of this election focused on Clinton and Obama’s rivalry for Democratic presidential nomination. Both Clinton and Obama disagreed on major international issues, which could spell for some discrepancies on future foreign policy agendas.

“I remember, especially towards the end of the primaries, that it started to get a little ugly between them,” Sacred Heart University and political science major Daniel Nasso said. “I guess they were able to make amends.”

Clinton has had a change of heart from her previous statements, which regarded Obama as an “unfit as Commander in Chief.” Obama is also guilty of critical remarks; he formerly mocked Clinton’s foreign policy experience. Although it may seem that the two have put there general dislikes for one another behind them, the question still persists; can they work together to fix the economic crisis?

Former President Bill Clinton told CNN that he believes this is so. He said that he would stay out of the way of decisions that his wife would be making and added that he believes that Obama and his wife can turn the economic crisis around within two years.

Americans are mostly undecided on this issue according to CNN, which reported that about half of the United States thinks that Hillary Clinton will have disagreements with Obama and that former President Clinton will not stay out of the Unites States foreign policy.

“Clinton will definitely influence some of Hillary’s decisions because they are married, but I wouldn’t necessarily think that was a bad thing,” Negri said.

Obama has promised a new direction in foreign policy that involves influencing nations through humanitarian aid and working with non-governmental groups.

Clinton will have to transform herself from politician to diplomat, with the challenge of changing the image she built up while being senator of New York. She will have to become an “honest broker,” which is typical of a United States secretary of state.

“I think that Hillary is the right woman for the job, but I’m not sold on the two of them working together,” Nasso said. “Hopefully they work out their differences before January.”